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The Miami HEAT are in Denver tonight to take in the Miami HEAT. The HEAT are playing on the second night of a back-to-back and are playing their fourth game in five days. After last night's loss to the Clippers, the HEAT are 6-3. The Nuggets enter at 4-4.

1. Neither Dwyane Wade nor Udonis Haslem has ever won a game in Denver. Does that change tonight?

Couper Moorhead: When the HEAT’s schedule comes out in the middle of the summer, the road game in Denver is usually the first one you circle – and it always seems to come on the second night of a back-to-back as well. It’s not just a Miami thing, either. Playing Denver under these circumstances, whether or not you believe the altitude comes into play, is one of the toughest things to do in the league. The good news is, this isn’t the type of situation that can ever be replicated in the playoffs. It will be a tall order, but Miami can win – there’s just nothing to worry about if they don’t.

Danny Martinez: Well, there’s a reason that the HEAT haven’t won in Denver in a really long time. Unfortunately, that reason plays into tonight’s game. Playing the second night of a back-to-back in the thin air in Denver is tough. Playing that game at the end of a long road trip and it’s doubly tough. That’s what the HEAT face tonight. Denver is 37-6 over the last three seasons when playing at home against teams on the second night of a back-to-back. Of course there’s a chance the HEAT pull out a win, but I wouldn’t expect it.

2. We just saw Denver a little more than a week ago. What should carry over from that game?

Couper: Kenneth Faried, being one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, will do his thing on the boards, but otherwise this should be a completely different game. Even just a week or so of time to gel makes a big difference, and everything tends to run a little more smoothly on your home court.

Danny: The game against Denver was the only time this season that the HEAT have gotten beat badly on the boards. The Nuggets frontline was relentless attacking the offensive glass. If it hadn’t been for a strong offensive effort, the HEAT probably would have lost the game. With the HEAT playing on the second night of a back-to-back tonight, I expect the Denver big men to focus on beating the HEAT on the glass again, especially on the offensive end.

3. Why does Miami’s spacing look so much more jumbled up than it did at the start of the season?

Couper: Some of it is that the HEAT are just getting everyone’s best defense right now, and those defenses are doing an exceptional job running three-point shooters off the line while also offering sufficient help in the paint, but the team has also just hit one of those ruts you hit over the course of the regular season. LeBron James is still playing wonderful basketball while the ball movement has been excellent, and as long as everyone stays committed to the offense, through makes and misses, thing will work out fine.

Danny: The biggest reason the floor is shrinking for the HEAT is they’ve been unable to generate consistent stops. Earlier in the season, the HEAT were pushing the pace off of stops, getting Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James early post position and fanning shooters out around the arc. Without the stops, it’s harder for the HEAT to find the rhythm they’re looking for.

Some of the other reasons are a little mundane, but they have probably played a role as well. Fatigue, injury and defensive adjustments are all playing into the HEAT’s offensive constriction.

4. Could Denver’s pace be at least a temporary cure-all for some of Miami’s issues?

Couper: It should help open things up a bit, sure, but that pace Denver plays with at home is also the main reason teams have so much trouble winning there.

Danny: Yes. Denver likes to push the tempo at all costs. That is the game the HEAT want to play on offense. A quicker pace will lead to more space for HEAT attackers and ideally more efficient shots. By getting into a shootout, the HEAT may solve some of their offensive struggles by accident. It will be tough to run with the Nuggets since the HEAT are playing on short rest, but if the HEAT can settle into a rhythm they’ll be fine.

5. We have discussed this already, but are we just playing a waiting game when it comes to the defense?

Couper: I doubt anyone on the team would say that they are playing perfect defense right now, and it’s tough to correct those things in the midst of a four-game-in-five-nights stretch, but once the HEAT get home they only have three games in 13 nights. That should give them plenty of time to tighten the bolts.

Danny: Yep. It might be frustrating to some, but we’re still a long ways away from having to actually worry about the defense. Unfortunately for the HEAT, things may get worse before they get better. The Nuggets will provide a tough test, but after that the HEAT schedule becomes home heavy and spaced out. This will provide the HEAT ample practice time to clean up any issues they find. There’s a good chance that two months from now we’ll all laugh about the time the defense was doubted.

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1. Neither Dwyane Wade nor Udonis Haslem has ever won a game in Denver. Does that change tonight?

KevinFromDade: No, I don't think it changes. There are a couple of factors to take into consideration: 2nd game of a back-to back on the road, a struggling Dwyane Wade, and what I believe to be one of the most deciding factors, the altitude change. The Nuggets are coming off of two days rest, so, I think they'll come out running. But, let's see.

KKinsey: That's hard to say, obviously this team is struggling lately and that does start with the teams co-captains Wade and Haslem. Now if our D continues like it has this season thus far, we might have a hard time against a young explosive Nuggets team. Don't get me wrong I like the whole 'small ball' thing, but I'd prefer to see it in smaller doses as a change of pace sort of thing. I would like to see a little more of Joel but I think he's still recovering from a quadriceps injury which might be why Spo is limiting his play.

Wuchuhurd: It sure doesn't feel like it. Look its hard enough to win the high altitude of Denver as it is, but against a young, athletic, and well rested team and playing the second game of a back-to-back the odds seem to be in Denver's favor at the moment. But it all depends on which Miami team shows up tonight.

2. We just saw Denver a little more than a week ago. What should carry over from that game?

KevinFromDade: That game wasn't exactly indicative of the way the HEAT want to win. Denver won the rebound battle 47-32. 18 of their 47 boards were offensive. Kenneth Faried was all over the place, going for 22 points and 12 rebounds (7 offensive.) The positive note, the HEAT only turned the ball over 8 times. So, strong box outs on Faried and McGee as well as keeping the turnovers low should be key.

KKinsey: Well we do know what kind of team Denver is. They are a young explosive team that moves the ball around well and will get at it defensively. Now Denver did kill us on the boards last game, so either maybe playing a little bigger or with more of an effort by everybody on the boards will be required. The Nuggets also have a young Udonis Haslem in the name of Kenneth Faried, who gives them energy, hustle and toughness. So containing him will be a challenge.

Wuchuhurd: Denver knows they should have left South Beach with a victory being up 6 with a little over a minute to go. That's just added incentive to playing the Champs at your house so I expect an all out blitz from Denver tonight. Meanwhile on Miami's side they are probably looking to contain the Manimal who had a spectacular game against Miami absolutely owning the offensive boards. Looks like it will be up to James and Bosh to carry the team if they want to escape Denver with a victory seeing that Wade is still ailing from his injuries. Wade has been awful on the road so far shooting just 37.7% through 4 games.

3. Why does Miami’s spacing look so much more jumbled up than it did at the start of the season?

KevinFromDade: Different rotations, different lineups. Our spacing being "jumbled" is nothing to worry about. The way I see it, it can be considered a result of a good thing. With the addition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, the coaching staff is still finding ways to work with so many weapons. Having to find more space on the floor for all your options isn't a bad thing. Coach Spo and his "position-less" mindset will get the spacing figured out.

KKinsey: Well one of the reasons for that is we were shooting lights out from everywhere on the floor and last few games those shots just aren't falling, which is to be expected. The ball movement I've found has been quite impressive thus far into the season and almost to a fault where we are passing up on shots. It seems that this team is either too passive or the ball sticks too much instead of something inbetween where a good shot is produced.

Wuchuhurd: It's just a phase really. When shots aren't going down you tend to rely a little more on your playmakers and as a result the ball will end up being stuck be it short or long stretches of the game. We've seen how incredible ball movement can be, at times looking like Chris Webber's Sacramento Kings of the early 2000's.

4. Could Denver’s pace be at least a temporary cure-all for some of Miami’s issues?

KevinFromDade: It could be, but shouldn't be considered a "cure-all" by anyone that matters (players, coaching staff etc.) Denver is a young team that likes to push the tempo, yet only had 6 fast break points in last week's meeting in Miami. Having to play less half-court defense may prove to be beneficial in an extremely short-term manner, (only for this game,) particularly at a time where the HEAT are still getting things figured out. But, unfortunately, running away from your problems won't make them go away.

KKinsey: Hmm.... I wouldn't say it's a "cure-all", but it could help us seeing as we like to play a faster pace. On the other hand slowing down the game could be a better play style for this team seeing as our half-court offense looks better than in previous years. To say its a "cure-all"? I guess we'll have to watch and see.

Wuchuhurd: I actually think Miami is better off slowing the game down and trying to make it as much into a halfcourt game as possible.

5. We have discussed this already, but are we just playing a waiting game when it comes to the defense?

KevinFromDade: Yes. It is way too early in the season to begin worrying about defensive miscues. The HEAT are run by Erik Spoelstra, a Pat Riley prodigy, which means we are always going to be defensive-minded. We have three extremely versatile defenders that can practically guard all 5 positions (LeBron, D-Wade, Battier.) A lot of teams are putting on a three-point clinic against Miami, and that could be due to our perimeter guys collapsing inside on the bigs. That lack of size inside makes a difference on the outside. But, all in all, it is a waiting game. We had an elite defense last year (ask OKC,) and are coming into this season with the same core and coaching staff. 8 games in last season, Boston had the 18th best defense. They ended the season being the 2nd best. We'll be fine.

KKinsey: Because our team doesn't have that prototypical center around the basket and in the paint, our whole defense acts as one center where players collapse down low and help out which leaves opponents wide open behind the 3pt line. Now although we do have fast enough players to close out on those players, it doesn't really help if they're hitting every shot. Teams know who we are and thy come out to play against us and those teams hve players stepping up and at the moment aren't missing those shots. I don't expect this to continue all season.

We are also still integrating players into the defensive system which will take time. In the great words of coach Spo "It's a process".

Wuchuhurd: I'm confident Spo knows how to maximize the team's defensive potential and it's importance come playoff time. Right now with the positionless approach he is perhaps finding ways to maximize their offensive potential after adding Ray and Rashard. But it also helps to have a healthy Wade who is key in operating a defense that swarms the ballhandler the way they do.

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I'm looking for HEAT to bounce back tonight and to start putting the pieces together.MIAMI's defense has been awful on the perimeter.Denver will test MIAMI tonight with their uptempo style,but i expect MIAMI to start righting a few of it's wrongs...TEAM HEAT since '88!

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I'm looking for us to start with Joel in the lineup! Its about time that we go back to that old lineup! If yo look at our Defense we are about almost last in everything requiring with defense. I miss that lineup when we had Joel at C! He brought us shot blocking and and at least some post defense.

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I'm looking for us to start with Joel in the lineup! Its about time that we go back to that old lineup! If yo look at our Defense we are about almost last in everything requiring with defense. I miss that lineup when we had Joel at C! He brought us shot blocking and and at least some post defense.

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Photo Credit: David Dow
With the pain of missing the playoffs by the slimmest of margins ingrained in their memory, the HEAT entered the 2017-18 season seeking redemption. Take a look back at how Miami achieved that goal here.

Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant
The Miami HEAT fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 104-91 Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Kelly Olynyk led the way for the HEAT with 18 points. Philadelphia wins the series 4-1. Click here for the full recap on HEAT.com

Photo Credit: David Dow
The Miami HEAT face the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Philadelphia leads the series 3-1. Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM. Television coverage on FOX Sports Sun begins at 7:30 PM. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: What can we learn from Philadelphia’s late push to a Game 4 victory?
Couper Moorhead: This won’t be a comforting statistic for anyone to read, but the 76ers were the first team to win a playoff game with 26 or more turnovers since 1986. For that to come up as the difference between a tied series and going on the road down 3-1 certainly can’t be easy for HEAT, but that’s the reality of the situation.
Those turnovers, and 18 Miami steals, were by and large the reason the HEAT were playing with around a 10-point lead for much of the game. They were out attacking passing lanes, getting deflections (with over 20 for the third-straight game) and contesting every Philadelphia three possible (22.6 percent from distance). It was, in so many words, the HEAT playing a very HEAT game in every way you would expect, from the physicality to the discipline on display defensively, where they cut off drives and recovered to shooters. They were in control of both the game and the score.
So how did the Sixers come back despite all of that? Six quick points from Ersan İlyasova, including a tough three, at the end of the third made it was four-point game headed into the final period. And then Philadelphia’s defense came alive, holding Miami to just 19 points in the period. And maybe that’s all there is to really learn. You can play some of your best basketball, but in a closely contested series against a talented opponent just one stretch of mistakes can cost you a handful on the scoreboard. Miami has done enough to beat a good number of teams, it just wasn’t quite enough to beat Philadelphia on Saturday.
Joe Beguiristain: We just continued to see how tough the 76ers are. Even with some great defense by Miami for most of the contest (the HEAT totaled 18 steals, including seven from Josh Richardson) and a late offensive surge by Dwyane Wade (12 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the fourth), Philadelphia never lost its composure.
Much like in Game 3, the 76ers upped their defensive pressure and came through with timely offensive rebounds to escape with the narrow victory despite committing a whopping 27 turnovers.
While J.J. Redick and Ben Simmons made some big plays late, the HEAT did a great job against Joel Embiid and made his catches tough throughout. In fact, Hassan Whiteside held Embiid to just 1-of-8 shooting and an unreal five turnovers. Bam Adebayo, meanwhile, fared just as well and limited the Cameroonian to 0-of-3 shooting and three turnovers.
It would be unreasonable to expect that once again, but it will take that kind of effort from both bigs if Miami wants to come out ahead this time around.
2: Are there any adjustments Miami can make to try and force a Game 6?
Couper: Erik Spoelstra will likely take a look at everything, from making lineup changes to changing defensive coverages to shifting offensive responsibilities. He’s not one to leave things on the table. But for everything he’ll likely look at, it’s very possible that there aren’t actually many major changes that need to be made. You go down 3-1 in a series and it’s easy to think drastic adjustments are in line, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, and we’ve said this here before, the best adjustment is just doing what you’ve been doing and doing it better. The HEAT have already been doing things very, very well, but if being even better than that is what it takes, then so be it. As Spoelstra has said a number of times in this series, that’s the challenge.
Joe: At this point, I don’t think there is much to change or adjust for either team. Although Miami is down 3-1, this has been a highly competitive series between two teams that really get after it. Sure, Erik Spoelstra might make a few minor tweaks to his rotation based on player performance, but that’s been the case all year long. And as Coup mentioned in his first response, the HEAT have executed well enough to win most of these games, so it’s really just a matter of sustaining that high level of play for longer periods of time.
At the end of the day, Miami just needs to keep up its defensive activity to make up for the size disparity and continue to attack in the pick-and-roll to create more openings on the other end.
We’ll see how it all plays out.
3: The HEAT have led at halftime of each game this series. What can they do better to hold leads in the second half?
Couper: Something Dwyane Wade emphasized a number of times following Game 4 was that the Sixers make you pay for every single mistake you make. If you take your foot off the gas for just a couple of minutes, those minutes are going to cost you.
Now, it’s probably not fair to say the HEAT have ever really taken their foot off the gas given how consistently hard they have been playing on the defensive end, but they have certainly had some offensive droughts that have allowed the Sixers to make up some ground. That’s not always to say they stop getting good shots or don’t run their offense, but even going cold on wide open shots for a minute or two is enough to turn a game – such as at the end of the third quarter on Saturday, which snowballed into an extended Philadelphia run – in a series where both teams are in overdrive. That’s also been a bit of a trend at times for Miami this season, where they’ll have one down six-minute stretch even in games where they’re otherwise topping 26-28 in a quarter, and trends like that can carry over to the postseason even if you can minimize them.
Spoelstra has said he’s been looking for a complete game from his team at times this season. He’s been getting complete effort, but the HEAT might just need complete offense to start a comeback. And they’ll have to do it against a team that’s proved to be capable of truly elite level defense.
Joe: Although the HEAT have done a great job of building early leads, the 76ers have responded well time and time again down the stretch. Thanks to Philadelphia’s fusion of length and discipline, the team has made things quite difficult on Miami in the halfcourt more often than not. As such, it’ll behoove the HEAT to push the pace as much as possible and get some easy buckets in transition. But if the opportunity doesn’t present itself, Miami should still be able to find some success in the pick-and-roll with Dragić and Wade attacking and Whiteside and Adebayo diving to the rim with force. In addition to defending Embiid really well in Game 4, both HEAT centers threw down some ferocious alley-oops on the break, so perhaps they can continue that and also translate it to set offense on Tuesday.
Highlights:
Game 4 – 76ers at HEAT
Game 3 – 76ers at HEAT
Game Notes:
Goran Dragić leads Miami with 19.5 points per game during the postseason.
Ben Simmons leads Philadelphia in points (19.3), rebounds (10.8), assists (9.8) and steals (2.5) per contest in the playoffs.
The HEAT are 8-2 in their last 10 elimination games.
Josh Richardson (left shoulder sprain) is listed as questionable.

Photo Credit: Issac Baldizon
The Miami HEAT fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 106-102 Saturday afternoon in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 25 points. Philadelphia now leads the series 3-1. Click here for the full recap on HEAT.com.